


The Death Watch

by EasilySpooked



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons), Trollhunters (Cartoon), Trollhunters - Daniel Kraus & Guillermo del Toro
Genre: Afterlife, Angst, Character Death, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Heavy Angst, Major Character Injury, Sad Ending, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:55:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27083731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EasilySpooked/pseuds/EasilySpooked
Summary: “People say you can’t foresee these things, but it's a lie. When the people you really love start to fade away you can tell. Even if it should be impossible, even if there’s no way in hell you could pick up on it, you know. That’s why exactly a month before the… incident, I started hearing the ticking.”Based on a panel in the Trollhunters comic "The Felled".Inspired by Stephen King's novel "Insomnia".
Relationships: Aaarrrgghh/Blinkous "Blinky" Galadrigal, Jim Lake Jr./Claire Nuñez
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17





	The Death Watch

Claire helped Jim onto the makeshift podium. His face was a blank slate, devoid of any emotion. He clutched a bundle of cue cards to his chest with a shaking hand. Every shuddering, halting step he took threatened to send his knees buckling. If he fell, Jim knew he wouldn’t be able to get back up. His muscles felt weak, as if he stood in one place for too long he would melt. If Claire weren’t there to support him he wouldn’t have been able to stand up at all. He let his cue cards drop to the podium and leaned on Claire, scrubbing his face with his hands. Jim promised himself he wouldn’t cry, and he intended to keep that promise. Claire wrapped an arm around his waist and rubbed calming circles into his back. He cleared his throat, a thick, pitiful sound, and began his speech.

“People say you can’t foresee these things. They say it ‘takes us by surprise’. ‘Oh what a terrible shame’, they say, ‘you never would have seen it coming.’ But it’s a lie. When the people you really love start to fade away you can tell. Even if it should be impossible, even if there’s no way in hell you could pick up on it, you know. That’s why exactly a month before the… incident, I started hearing the ticking.”

_tick_

_tick_

_tick_

Jim startled awake. Blinky looked disapprovingly around the stack of books he’d dropped in front of him.

“Master Jim, I’d kindly ask you to keep from falling asleep until we finish sorting my fiction section.” He grumbled.

“I’m sorry Blink, I just didn’t get much sleep last night. Senior Uhl gave us another last minute assignment that I really don’t have time for. Trust me, I’m really trying.”

Blinky sighed, his heart going out to the poor teenager in front of him. “I don’t doubt you’re trying.” He cleared aside a stack of books and sat beside him. “This is partially my fault. I’m not the most engaging sorting partner. Never fear! I’m sure I can find something to talk about.” He smiled toothily at Jim, and Jim chuckled. Blinky was known around Trollmarket quite bluntly as the ‘troll who wouldn’t shut up’. Jim sluggishly started sorting again, stifling a yawn. Blinky hummed to himself for a second before he settled on a topic. 

“Have I ever told you about troll spirits?” He asked.

“I don’t think so.” 

“Ahh, well there’s a complicated piece of troll lore that’s sure to wake you up.” Blinky declared. “You already know that when a Trollhunter dies, they go to join the previous Hunters in the void. There they live on as a manifestation of their memories, never fading and never changing.”

Jim nodded, recalling his previous trips to the void.

“But for other trolls dying is much more… mysterious.” Blinky paused before continuing. “We’ve never had such a visual confirmation of life after death. Some trolls believe that when we die our spirits die as well. I personally know a few who’ve adopted the human view of a heaven and hell, although adapted to fit our history. A few tribes, the Krubera especially, believe our spirits live on in the rocks beneath our feet, or the trees and moss. I suspect that’s the most popular theory. However, I know there’s a significant number who believe in reincarnation after death. In fact… my mother was one of them.” Blinky smiled sadly and Jim stopped sorting, this was the first time he'd mentioned his mother.

“My mother insisted she’d come back as a deer. She loved to watch them, she said their silent beauty spoke to her soul. I know she didn’t want us to know, but she hated not being able to run like them. Conundrums may be faster than the average human, but we can’t even begin to compare to the strong agility of a deer. After she… turned to stone… I remember I snuck away from the funeral and sat in the forest until the first light of morning broke above the horizon. I waited as long as I could. I know it’s silly, but I thought that if a deer appeared I would know she was right. But I didn’t see any deer that night, or the night after that. Nor any of the other nights I went back there. I must have spent all my nights for a month waiting to see a deer. Dictatious was the one who finally stopped me, I think my failure was hurting him just as much as it was hurting me. He insisted he never believed that crap, but I could see it in his eyes.” Blinky sniffed once and took a deep breath.

“Ah well, I should apologize Master Jim. I must have gotten lost in the story.” He swiped at one of his eyes and turned to the teenager, whose books were long forgotten. “There is a happy ending.” Blinky insisted with renewed cheer. “A year later I was out for a midnight stroll and stumbled across a group of deer. There was a mother, two fawns and a few yearlings. They startled at the sight of me, but one of the yearlings stopped and stared at me before darting off to join the others. I don’t know how to explain it but I knew in that moment her spirit and my mother’s were one and the same. Maybe it was the irrational belief of a troll suffering a great loss, but to this day a part of me can’t help but wonder.”

A hush fell over the library as Jim absorbed the story. The two started to sort books again without another word, a mutual agreement that they both needed a minute. Finally Jim broke the silence. “What do you want to reincarnate as?”

Blinky smiled at the young Trollhunter, and admired how he knew exactly how to respond. “A bird would be nice.”

_tick_

_tick_

_tick_

Jim shuddered a bad feeling off his shoulders and resumed climbing the hill to the cliff that overlooked Arcadia. He, Toby and Clarie had set up a tent for Blinky and Aaarrgghhh so they could enjoy the sunrise any time they wanted. He wanted to see how well it was working. The sun was just peeking over the horizon when the pair came into view.

“Aaargghhh, my old friend, may I ask you something delicate?” Jim heard Blinky’s voice drift toward him.

“Yes.” Aaargghhh’s low rumble of a voice answered back.

Jim froze, he knew he wasn’t supposed to be present for this conversation. He began to turn back, but Blinky’s next words sent a shiver down his spine.

“What did dying feel like?”

A tense silence fell over the clearing. Even the birds seemed to pause their song. Jim unconsciously made his way closer. He knew he was eavesdropping but he couldn’t help himself. The age old question was about to be answered. The pair came into view and Jim saw Aaarrgghhh shift in place, gearing up for the big answer.

“Was there and then not.”

Jim could see Blinky freeze, and Aaarrgghhh shifted closer to him, obviously concerned. 

“...But that doesn’t make sense. How could there only be nothing? Maybe you just can’t remember? Your spirit must have gone somewhere. It couldn’t have just disappeared, you came back! So where did it go?” Blinky put his head in his hands. “Maybe you were held in some type of limbo so Merlin could use you later? That must be it. A kind of deep sleep that kept your spirit constant and unchanged. If you had become something else who knows how hard it would have been to bring you back. And you might not have been the same Aaarrgghhh even if we did get you back.” He thumped his fist into his palm definitively, reaching his final hypothesis. “So that’s why there was nothing. Because you were meant to come back.” He turned his face up to Aaarrgghhh’s, desperately seeking for confirmation.

Aaarrgghhh just shook his head and bumped his nose softly against Blinky’s. “Blinky overthink again.” 

The smaller troll sighed and let the tension seep out of his shoulders. He climbed into Aaarrgghhh’s lap and leaned back against his chest. “I’m scared.” He admitted sadly. “When you died… I didn’t think I would survive. What if that really is the end? What if you die for real and I can’t find you again? When I think about all those trolls I might never see again, my mother, Vendel...” Blinky trailed off and didn’t start again. The pair cuddled in silence in the shade of their tent, watching the sun throw it’s first rays across Arcadia. A sunrise was supposed to symbolize a new beginning, but all the three could think about were all their loved ones who might never see a sunrise again.

_Tick_

_Tick_

_Tick_

Jim shook his head, trying to get that infernal ticking out of his mind. It was loud today, louder than it had ever been before. The sinking dread that came with it was always more than he could handle. Now was not the time.

He dodged the goblin that came flying at him. A swarm of them had taken over his school and he needed to get them and his friends out before the day started so the existence of trolls wouldn’t be revealed to the world. He let out a battle cry as he sliced two in half with a single swipe of his blade. He, Toby, Claire, Draal, Blinky and Aaarrgghhh had been cutting them down for at least an hour and they still kept coming.

“How are there so many?” Toby yelled from across the hall. He was surrounded by a wall of goblins, barely keeping them at bay.

“Hell if I know! Figuring this out is supposed to be Blinkous’s job.” Draal grumbled. Fighting without causing mass destruction to the school around him was really bumming him out.

Claire summoned a portal underneath Toby and saved him from being overwhelmed. She panted with the exertion of controlling the shadows. Dark circles painted a grim look on her face, giving her a sickly appearance. “I can’t keep this up for much longer!” She gasped. “Where is Blinky anyway?” 

Jim groaned and sliced his way through the goblins, trying to find the small Conundrum. “Blinky! How’s the sleuthing coming along?” He yelled. A faint answer came back to him, but he could hardly hear it over the screeching of the goblins. “That sounded like it came from the library, I’m going to go check it out.” He called back to the others. Summoning his strength, he plowed through the sea of goblins and struggled down the hallway. As he got closer to the library he began to hear the sounds of Aaarrgghhh faithfully protecting his partner, a neverending pounding of fists and intermittent roars of rage. After what felt like an eternity he managed to get through the library door and was greeted with a scene that formed a pit in his stomach. Green goo covered everything. All the books were completely soaked, the carpet would probably never recover, not even the ceiling was spared from the massacre. Aaarrgghhh apparently didn’t have the same restraint Draal was trying to keep. Jim could barely keep the groan of desperation from escaping him. 

“Aaarrgghhh… no…” he moaned. Aaarrgghhh didn’t even spare him a glance, opting instead to beat more goblins into pulp. Blinky, on the other hand, popped his head up from behind one of the tables. 

“Master Jim!” He exclaimed. “Thank goodness you’re here, I need help breaking this portal.”

“Portal?” Jim asked, and his eyes widened as everything became clear. “Oh my god, they’ve got a portal open to the Darklands.”

“Precisely!” Blinky confirmed, and disappeared back behind the table. Jim sliced a few more goblins in half on his way there, but most of them were more focused on fleeing Aaarrgghhh than attacking the Trollhunter. He slid behind the table and settled down beside Blinky, who was using it as a makeshift barrier against the waves of goblins that were seemingly climbing out of the floor. “You can’t see it now, but the portal is right there on the ground. Aaarrgghhh tried to break it using his brute strength, but I think it needs something a little more special than that.” Blinky pointed at Daylight, the sword Jim carried. “A Trollhunter’s sword should hopefully do the trick. If not, then Merlin help us.” 

Jim grit his teeth and stood up. “Here goes nothing.” He said before vaulting over the table and struggling toward the portal. He could barely swing his sword fast enough to keep from being overwhelmed. Blinky shouted encouragement from behind the table, the only thing he could do to help. His Dwärkstones were long since exhausted. A goblin launched itself at Jim’s face, leaving a deep scratch on his cheek. He screamed, trying to pull the Goblin off, but it dug it’s claws into his scalp and wouldn’t let go. Aaarrgghhh bounded over at Jim’s cry and squashed the goblin flat between his two giant fists. Jim winced as he pulled the late goblin’s clawed hands out of his head. “Thanks buddy.”

Jim was so close to the portal but it felt like miles. Blinky yelled at Aaarrgghhh before he had to beat back a couple goblins of his own. “Give Master Jim a lift! We can’t keep fighting much longer.” Aaarrgghhh rumbled in agreement and leaned down, letting Jim scramble onto his back. Jim held on for dear life as Aaarrgghhh leaped to the portal, landing a couple feet shy. Determined, Jim slipped off the large troll’s back and made the last few steps himself. Raising Daylight high above his head, he rocked back, heedless of all the goblins that tried to latch themselves onto his blade to stop it coming down. In a blinding flash of metal the sword swug down and split the small portal in two. A goblin stuck midway between the Darklands and Arcadia exploded in a shower of goo, coating Jim’s face in a sticky, green mask.

A scramble of claws and whoops of fear were the only sounds that filled the library for a moment, as all the goblins realized their escape route and backup were cut off. Aaarrgghhh crashed around the library, trying to smash as many as he could before they escaped. Jim could hear the cheers of his friends as they realized the battle was coming to an end, and Draal let out a roar of triumph.

Jim turned around to beam at Blinky, but caught sight of something in the window. Blinky turned around, following his line of sight. A pure white goblin was perched on the windowsill, a crossbow in hand. Blinky let out a yell, something about this being a trap, but it didn’t register until too late. Before Jim could even begin to comprehend what was happening the goblin let out a war cry and pulled the trigger.

_tick_

_tick_

_tick_

The next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion.

_tick_

_Tick_

_TICK_

Jim couldn’t move out the way fast enough.

_TICK_

_TICK_

A flash of blue appeared between him and the arrow.

The spear tip of the arrow appeared, staring at him from the back of a blue back. It mocked him. If it couldn’t have him, it would take the ones he cared for.

Jim choked.

Blinky fell.

Aaarrgghhh made it there first even though Jim was the closest. Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks. Jim didn’t think he’d seen a troll cry so hard in his life.

“Blinky gonna be o-okay.” Aaarrgghhh whimpered. Blinky tried to raise a hand to touch his partner’s face but faltered halfway there, his strength gone. Aaarrgghhh used his own hand to help Blinky’s make it there. He nuzzled into his hand with a passion Jim had never seen on the gentle giant before.

Jim was jump-started into motion by that sight, the reality of the situation hitting him full force. He collapsed beside Blinky, trying not to notice the corona of stone radiating out from the wound in his chest.

“Guess I’ll finally know for sure what... h-happens after death.” Blinky gasped. “But I never thought I would be… the one leaving y-you.” He addressed the two sitting beside him. 

“Love Blinky.” Aaarrgghhh cried.

“I l-love you too.” Blinky wheezed.

Jim could feel tears tumbling down his face, this couldn’t be happening. “This isn’t fair.” He wailed. “Please Blink, please you can’t.” From somewhere behind him he heard his friends enter the room. Claire’s gasp and Toby’s cry of surprise barely reached his ears. He felt like he was underwater, all his senses muffled with pure disbelief.

Using the last of his strength Blinky shifted towards Jim. “I love y-you M-Master Jim… please… remember that.” The stone was creeping up to his neck now, immobilizing him. Jim wrapped his arms around the motionless troll, hyperventilating as he tried to hold back his sobbing.

“I love you too… dad.” Jim choked out. Blinky smiled as the stone swallowed up more of his face. “You’ll come back as a bird, I-I know it. You have to.” Jim sobbed, but he would never know if Blinky heard that or not. Blinky was gone.

_tick_

_ti-_

  
  


A week later Jim stood at the ramshackle podium hastily erected in Blinky’s most treasured place, his library. Blinky’s stone husk, all that remained of the blue troll who used to be so full of life, stood against one of the shelves. After Jim finished his eulogy Aaarrgghhh and Draal would work together to lift him into an alcove that had been built above his history section.

“Blinky was the backbone of our group.” Jim continued, gesturing to his closest friends gathered in the front of the crowd. More trolls had showed up to the funeral than Jim expected, but instead of comforting him their presence only served to remind him that his teacher was really gone. He could barely hold back the sobs that threatened to break free, and reached for Claire’s hand. She gently took and squeezed it, giving him a little bit more strength to push on. “He meant so much to each of us. He was a teacher, a partner, a father,” Jim swiped at his eyes, and let out a single keening cry. “But most importantly, a friend. He taught us so much. I wouldn’t have lasted a day as the Trollhunter without him.” Steeling himself for what he was about to do next, he slowly turned around to face the lifeless statue behind him. Aaarrgghhh was pressed up against it, trying to hide the tears he shed. One giant hand held Blinky’s small, dead one. “Blinky, if your spirit is out there, I want you to know you don’t need reincarnation to live on. You live on in each one of our hearts. All our good memories, the moments we shared, the lessons you taught us. We’ll never forget you for as long as we live.” Claire was shaking beside him, and when Jim turned around to face her he saw her sorrow painted clearly on her face. He looked around at all the trolls gathered today, as well as Toby. Their misery hung over the room like a dark cloud. It was as though Blinky’s heart beat on in each one of them. With a sad smile, he stepped down off the podium and returned to his seat.

Draal made his way to the front beside Aaarrgghhh, who was letting out low, guttural moans of pain. He kept bumping his nose against Blinky’s face as if he expected Blinky to respond. Draal laid his hand on Aaarrgghhh’s shoulder and the Krubera pulled back from his late partner. The pain they both felt was clear in every movement they made as they hoisted the stone husk above their heads and into the alcove. 

As all the trolls began to filter out, Jim lurched to his feet again and walked over to Aaarrgghhh. He gave him as big of a hug as possible, and Aaarrgghhh slowly leaned over to reciprocate, his eyes unfocused and distant. Claire and Toby slowly made their way over as well, joining the hug after a few moments. They stayed huddled together for a long time, all desperately needing the comfort of their friends. Blinky stayed nestled in his alcove, a place covered in delicate carvings of birds, and watched over the group with lifeless eyes. 

The ticking was long gone.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Tell me what you thought down below.


End file.
